Author: RADHIKA BHAGAT
RADHIKA BHAGAT
Radhika Bhagat is a wildlife conservationist and writer. She is the founder and CEO of Sacred Earth Trust, where her work focuses on biodiversity conservation, ecological restoration, sacred natural sites and ecology
Across the remote hinterland, villages that have sustained communities for generations are steadily losing their people. Migration to towns and cities has left thousands of rural settlements sparsely populated, with many now reduced to ‘ghost villages’ The first thing to disappear from a village is not its people, but its sound. The laughter of children fades from winding paths. Cowbells become less frequent. Schools close for want of students. Terraced fields lie uncultivated, homes remain locked for years, and only a handful of elderly residents are left in settlements that once bustled with life. Across India, this quiet exodus is…
